One player....one clubhouse personality.....is it over rated or under rated? Does having a good character guy really make a difference? Part of a team's chemistry is determined by a select few character guys who help push a team over the top. An exceptional clubhouse guy can help a team's chemistry and make the team better, just by his presence. Many Rays players will tell you that Cliff Floyd brought professionalism and class to the Rays. Floyd has been an important part of this Rays team. Floyd, as you may recall, was the one who mentored David Wright during his rookie season with the Mets. Is it a coincidence that the Mets haven't quite been the same since Floyd's departure? Last season, he helped the Cubs win, and this year he's bringing his expertise to the young Tampa Bay Rays. Floyd is a winner and he is great for rookies to watch, learn from, and emulate. The same can be said for Luis Gonzales. The young Marlins look to Gonzales, and he has responded in a big way. Not only has he helped the "kiddie" Marlins come of age, but he has a proven track record as being a winner, and it has rubbed off on the young Marlins. There isn't a player on the team who hasn't been impressed with Gonzales...including his manager.

Omar Minaya, during his press conference, said that it would have been disrespectful to fire Willie Randolph while in uniform. I guess he felt it was more dignified to fire Willie Randolph while he was in his pajamas.

Houston Astros manager Cecil Cooper and the Minnesota Twins’ Ron Gardenhire were fined undisclosed amounts by Major League Baseball on Tuesday for failing to comply with pace of game regulations last weekend. You've got to be kidding me. With all that is wrong with the game, MLB spends time fining managers for delaying games by a few minutes? If this isn't a joke, I don't know what is. Let the managers manage for gods sake. If you want to cut time from games, shorten your commercial breaks.

Tough to argue with the firing of Bill Bavasi in Seattle. He made some poor trades, and he thinned his minor league system in the process. He signed free agent infielder Scott Spiezio to a three-year contract with a club option for 2007, he dealt Carlos Guillen to Detroit for infielders Ramon Santiago and Juan Gonzalez, he signed an unproductive Richie Sexson, and traded Rafael Soriano to the Braves for Horacio Ramirez. This season's big pickup, Erik Bedard is 4-4 with a 4.00 ERA. Bavasi has destroyed this club, and it's nice to see Seattle ownership take control and end Bavasi's tenure.

It looks as though Homer Bailey is not the stud pitcher we all thought he'd be. He hasn't looked anything like the star pitcher he was supposed to be. He has looked over-matched and overwhelmed. He's just not ready for the majors yet. The excitement surrounding the Reds young pitchers is for Cueto and Volquez...not Bailey. If he can find his stuff, the Reds can have a mighty rotation. But it appears now that Bailey's future could be a year or three away. His poor performance has been mystifying.

Ramon Vazquez is still hitting .336 for the Rangers in 146 at-bats. He's proving to be a late bloomer at 32 years of age. He's been one of the team's MVP candidates so far, and his solid play and bat has led the Rangers to decide that Hank Blalock will move to first base upon his return from the DL. Perhaps it's time for the Rangers to let their leading hitter hit 2nd instead of 9th, so they can put that valuable .336 average to better use.

Omar Minaya's press conference to announce Randolph's firing was an embarrassment for the Mets. His timeline simply doesn't pan out, and his stuttering and improvisation just didn't cut it. Minaya is in over his head whether or not the Wilpons believe that or not. Later on WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog show, Minaya sounded even worse, as he was justifiably grilled by the hosts for his decision and handling of the situation. But perhaps the worst news for Mets fans came when Minaya downplayed Tony Bernazard playing a role in Randolph's firing. It sounded like Bernazard is here to stay, and that is not good news for the Mets and their fans.

Perhaps now Jim Leyland is finding out just how good of a hitter Marcus Thames is. His last eight hits have been homeruns, which is a rather impressive streak. Thames has always hit when given the chance to contribute. He may not give you more than a .250 batting average, but who cares if he hits 25 homeruns and drives in 80 runs?

Keep an eye on Royals shortstop Mike Aviles. He arrived a few weeks ago without much fanfare, but he's a good one, and he could become a top tier shortstop. Hitting .300 is not out of the question. Last year, he was the Royals’ minor-league player of the year after batting .296 with 17 homers and 77 RBIs in 133 games at Class AAA Omaha. He was leading the league in RBI this season when called up to the Royals. And, he only stands at 5'7". He wasn't shown much respect, as the Royals exposed him in the Rule 5 draft, and yet, because of his size, no one selected him despite his impressive minor league numbers. Now he's producing, and he may be the best Royals shortstop to come along in five or six years.

Losing Wang is a back breaker for the Yankees. Do you think Carl Pavano is ready to take his place in the rotation?

Raise your hand if you thought the Pirates would have a better record than the Dodgers, Mets, Rockies, Padres, Indians, and Tigers at this point in the season.

My bet is that Steve Trachsel never pitches in the majors again.

The good news about Orioles pitcher Brian Burres is that his walk totals are way down. The bad news is that he's doing it at the expense of his fastball. His strikeout totals are way down as well. He was better when he was effectively wild.

In Jerry Manuel's first game as Mets manager, Jose Reyes threw his helmet in disgust in Manuel's direction when the new manager pulled Reyes as a precaution following Reyes hamstring tightening. Would he have acted that way with Randolph? We can only wonder. The Mets played sloppy for Manuel in his first game as Mets manager. If that's an omen, Manuel's interim tag will be just that...interim.

Just how bad has Barry Zito been for the Giants this season? Zito is 2-11. With 13 decisions under his belt, he has only 19 at-bats this season. That means Zito isn't even going four/five innings in his games. In most games, Zito has had just one at-bat per game.

So, where will Ken Griffey Jr. go? It's been mentioned that Griffey would waive his no clause contract to go to Tampa Bay to play for the Rays. A player wanting to go to the Rays...that has to be a first in Rays history. But for the record, if traded, which is still a longshot, I think Griffey will wind up in St Louis, or in LA to play for the Angels. Just my hunch....

He's 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA and there's no place on the Red Sox for Justin Masterson. I say there is a place for Masterson, and that place is a permanent spot in the Red Sox rotation. Why fool with this talented kid, who is obviously more effective than an aging Tim Wakefield and Bartolo Colon? And if Curt Schilling returns from the DL, that will push Masterson further down the depth chart. Masterson is too good a talent to be messed with. Keep him in the rotation and let him develop, rather than shipping him out to Pawtucket every two weeks.

It had to be a thrill for Chase Headley to hit his first career homerun at Yankee Stadium. The Padres should have brought him up a bit sooner when it became obvious that San Diego was going nowhere this season. He should do well, especially after having a cup of coffee in the majors last season.

Chase Utley is in an 0-20 slump, but it was almost comical watching ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst Eduardo Perez trying to give Utley advice and explain what he's been doing wrong during this slump. I guess a .247 hitter is qualified to show flaws in a superstar's swing. Why bother having a hitting coach when they've got Eduardo Perez to help correct flaws in their swing?

Is it me, or does it seem like all of the contestants on Deal or No Deal are actors? What happened to having normal people on game shows rather than those who have acting ability. Oh wait, this belongs on my TV Media website....my bad.

Court Adjourned!